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Georgianne Nienaber is an investigative environmental and political writer. She lives in rural northern Minnesota, New Orleans and South Florida. Her articles have appeared in The Society of Professional Journalists' Online Quill Magazine, The Ugandan Independent, Rwanda's New Times, India's TerraGreen, COA News, ZNET, OpEdNews, Glide Magazine, The Journal of the International Primate Protection League, Africa Front, The United Nations Publication, A Civil Society Observer, b*tch Magazine, and Zimbabwe's The Daily Mirror. Her fiction expos- of insurance fraud in the horse industry, Horse Sense, was re-released in early 2006. Gorilla Dreams: The Legacy of Dian Fossey was also released in 2006. Nienaber spent much of 2007 doing research in South Africa, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. She was in DRC as a MONUC-accredited journalist, and has been living Southern Louisiana investigating hurricane reconstruction and getting to know the people there since late 2007. Nienaber is currently developing a documentary on the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone, and continuing "to explore the magic of the Deep South." She is a member of the Memphis Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Saturday, June 13, 2015(1 comments)Ten Years After Katrina: NOLA Can Finally Throw Off the Cloak of Shame
he flooding of New Orleans was not due to political pressure put on the Army Corps of Engineers by the OLB. The answer is profound in its simplicity and found in the details of an engineering study. Human error, subsequent finger pointing and the inability of the Army Corps to admit mistakes, contributed mightily to the post catastrophe suffering of the citizens of New Orleans.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015(2 comments)Banyamulenge Tutsi Refugees Just Want to Go Home
So, we are left with some hope and the reality that 14,000 people just want to go home to their fertile valleys. It is one thing to be displaced within your own country, and quite another to be part of a generation forced to flee from country, home and history.Yes, hope does spring eternal, but the Banyamulenge and other Tutsi refugees do not have the luxury of eternal life in this world.

Friday, May 15, 2015Sacred Land Film Project Premieres Sunday on PBS
This Sunday, May 17 at 9 pm ET, the PBS World Channel will begin its national broadcast of Standing on Sacred Ground, starting with "Pilgrims and Tourists." The next three episodes will run weekly on Sundays at 9 pm with "Profit and Loss" on May 24, "Fire and Ice" on May 31, and "Islands of Sanctuary" on June 14.

Friday, April 17, 2015(13 comments)Obama Ignores Atrocity and Tells Congo: Keep Up the Good Work
A mountain of CLA reports confirm that Congo is more than a failed state, aided and abetted by the blind eyes of the international community, the USA, the State Department and our President. Congo is a cauldron of misery, blood and greed, stirred by the worst humanity has to offer.

Sunday, February 15, 2015(3 comments)Documentary Oscar Nominee "Virunga" Offers Fantasy and Not Fact
There is a film, Virunga, competing for Best Documentary. Virunga has the potential, if it has not already, to greatly harm people of eastern Congo by conflating the political narrative to "humans vs. environment." People care more about a charismatic non-human species than they do about millions suffering under a brutal regime.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015(13 comments)Reservation Kids Doused With Beer at Hockey Game
Did students and staff from the American Horse School on the Pine Ridge Reservation deserve to have beer thrown on them and suffer additional verbal abuse by a group of grown and presumably drunk men at a hockey game? Should a ten-year-old native child be expected to assimilate a threat of "go back to the reservation," because an abusive white man accused him or her of not standing during the National Anthem?

Tuesday, January 27, 2015(3 comments)Psychopathic Politics in Congo Buries Opposition
Kabila had telegraphed his intentions while he was carefully grooming the international press, NGOs, and filmmakers to ignore his pathological behavior against the opposition. Kabila successfully triangulated his relationships in order to justify vilification of anyone who successfully protested his regime.

Friday, December 19, 2014(14 comments)UNHCR Finally Speaks Out on Beni Massacres in Congo
he United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) held a briefing in Geneva early this morning and condemned the ongoing massacre of civilians in the Beni area of eastern Congo. It is about time. Atrocities have been ongoing since October

Thursday, November 13, 2014(3 comments)Supermodel Astronauts are Everywoman and Every Woman Should Hear This
For those of you completely freaked out by the Internet video featuring very young girls dressed like street-walking Cinderellas and spouting more F-bombs than one would hear in an Eastern European women's correctional facility, there is a soon-to-be viral antidote.

Saturday, October 11, 2014(3 comments)Indian Country: Big Oil and Inter-Generational Trauma
When Winona LaDuke asked me to take a look at a piece she wrote for Indian Country Today this week, I knew immediately that her perspective needed an audience that Indian people often have difficulty reaching.

Sunday, July 13, 2014(3 comments)Following the Sandpiper: Pipelines As Modern Trade Routes
Will we, as a nation, fall prey to "treaties" promising us riches beyond belief that big oil dangles? Will Congress and our President also lie to us, just as Jefferson did? Will we wrap ourselves in oil and drown in the salty byproducts of fracking while we watch towns burn from train explosions and die of thirst after our aquifers are poisoned?Series: Searching for the Sandpiper (3 Articles, 3366 views)

Tuesday, June 17, 2014(2 comments)North Dakota Land and Water in Peril
We agreed that oil exploration and extraction in the Bakken Formation was taking a mighty toll on indigenous and white communities alike. The stark difference was that white residents of North Dakota seemed to be rolling over to the inevitability of big oil and its impact upon the social, political and environmental landscapes of their communities.Series: Searching for the Sandpiper (3 Articles, 3366 views)

Friday, March 28, 2014(12 comments)Hollywood Debunked: What Really Happened Inside the Hotel Rwanda
"For those who have learned of this story only through the famous movie Hotel Rwanda, the story of Edouard Kayihura is a privileged opportunity to put reality to the Hollywood dramatization." -- Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire (Retired) Force Commander of the United Nations peacekeeping force for Rwanda between 1993 and 1994

Saturday, January 25, 2014(5 comments)Murder, Mayhem and Mexican Mafia Stalk the Bakken Oil Fields
The Bakken oil patch is slowly turning into a killing field winding through 9,000 temporary housing projects called "man camps." Fueled by drugs, alcohol and desperation, the innocent homeless and the guilty desperate dregs of humanity are forced to sleep in cars and under bridges as the workforce explodes, infrastructure implodes, and social mores collapse.

Sunday, September 15, 2013(1 comments)Arms and the Man: Who is Chief UN Peacekeeper Herve Ladsous?
Why is the man who was France's second in command at the United Nations during the Rwandan genocide, while France was actively engaged in arms smuggling to the genocidaires, now in charge of peacekeeping in the same region? Can he reasonably be trusted with peacekeeping in the tinder boxes of Central Africa and the Middle East? Are Herve Ladous's hands clean?Series: Who Is Herve Ladsous? (2 Articles, 2936 views)

Sunday, September 8, 2013(1 comments)Bakken Oil: An Elder Speaks To Power
Parshall is within the boundaries of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation--home to the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nations. It was obvious that the use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to tap into the massive Bakken Oil Formation had unleashed a maelstrom of unstoppable, damaging, and unpredictable industrial development.Series: Bakken Oil (2 Articles, 7591 views)

Thursday, August 22, 2013(1 comments)UN Sanctions Committee Investigates Congolese Writer's "Genetic Signature"
Imagine the Congolese poet's shock and fear when she received a letter from "SECO" demanding to know about her "relationship" with the M23 rebel leader Colonel Sultani Makenga. Her crime? She wrote a poem in an ethnic language and posted it on her Facebook Page.

Saturday, July 27, 2013(6 comments)I Want a Face Transplant from a Dead Congolese Woman
It is just a face. It has no skull structure, no bones, and no body to give it context because it was peeled from her skull by a Ukrainian pilot working for the Congolese Army. Afraid to be hit by enemy fire, he was flying too high to identify military targets.

Sunday, April 14, 2013(5 comments)UN: Sacrificing African Lives for Political Expediency
he United Nations is organizing three battalions of 3,000 troops from South Africa, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique to conduct "offensive operations" against rebels in eastern Congo. 19,815 MONUSCO troops are currently deployed in the country. This action will effectively pit Africans against Africans in the forests of Congo, opening the door to a regional bloodbath, while ignoring the problems that have plagued the Kivu Provi

Saturday, March 2, 2013(2 comments)M23: Today's Doomed Rebels or Tomorrow's Revered Revolutionaries?
M23 reports to OEN News and the LAPROGRESSIVE today that 95% of the M23 soldiers are now with General Sultani Makenga. "(ICC wanted warlord) Ntaganda is only with his body guard without weapon. He has been defeated, we are following him, he is heading to Nyiragongo mountain."

Monday, February 18, 2013(6 comments)Costa Rica's Hidden Treasure: Mystica
Finding a hidden treasure in a country with no army. It is true that writers do not want to write when they are happy.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013(1 comments)US Sanctions Darken Internet in Congo
Even as a journalist, I was concerned enough to seek reassurance that the mere writing about the sanctions, timelines, lobbying and disputed reports would not land me in trouble--sobering thoughts for an American citizen to have. Could I still interview members of the M23 to get their side of the story?

Tuesday, December 4, 2012(33 comments)Is Rwanda the Victim in a Modern Day Salem Witch Trial?
A critical analysis will ask why a photo, freely available on the Internet, of the commander of the M23 rebels wearing US patterns was left out of the report of the UN Group of Experts . Reason? It does not fit the narrative developed and nurtured by a biased panel that defines aid to rebels by the cammo patterns on their uniforms.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012(9 comments)Goma Falls and US Responds With Weasel Words
The people of Goma and the dispossessed of eastern Congo are weary of conflict and feel abandoned by their government. They want protection and rule of law and M23 is offering that tantalizing possibility.

Thursday, November 15, 2012(1 comments)Ojibwe Creation Symbol Desecrated by Minnesota Wolf Hunt
Despite lawsuits and public opposition, wolf hunting began in Minnesota on November 3. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), with the full support of Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D), offered 6,000 licenses to kill 400 wolves. As of now, 109 wolves are dead.

Monday, November 12, 2012(51 comments)"Sticks in Vaginas:" This Is What a Massacre Looks Like
My source made it clear to me that MONUSCO is stretched to the breaking point and in many instances unable to guarantee the safety of civilians. There is no ethnic group or rebel organization that does not have blood on its hands. It is well past the time to sort out ethnic tensions. The violence must stop.
Warning: Photos in this article are stomach-wrenchingly graphic.

Monday, October 22, 2012(2 comments)Take a Break from Politics and Listen to a Working Girl's Guitar
While not exactly "obscure" in the sense that Patti Smith writes about, Flores has certainly been overlooked in an evolving music business that has streamlined label rosters to include only the most commercially viable artists. In fact, Flores honed her considerable talent at North Hollywood's Palomino Club (think country music west) in the '80s following the leads of Linda Ronstadt, The Flying Burrito Brothers ...

Monday, October 22, 2012(1 comments)Last Real Indians' Tribute To Russell Means
Chase Iron Eyes of Last Real Indians offers this moving tribute to American Indian activist Russell Means, who led the Second Battle at Wounded knee in 1973.

Thursday, August 23, 2012(2 comments)Pe' Sla Sale on Hold but Sacred Land Still at Risk
Update: A message on the auction house's website on Thursday afternoon says the land sale of Pe' Sla has been cancelled at the owners' direction. The auction house said they had no comment.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012(20 comments)Pe' Sla Sacred Grounds on Development Auction Block
In a race against the clock, the Sioux Nation is fighting to save Pe' Sla, one of its most sacred religious sites. Pe' Sla, located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, is the epicenter of the creation story of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota nations. Tribal elders and spiritual leaders conduct ceremonies essential to their culture and beliefs.

Sunday, August 12, 2012(1 comments)Defining Good Rebels vs. Bad Rebels in Congo
We don't want them (M23) to survive as a movement, as an ideology, we don't want to see their actions continue... there is no question about it, and there is nothing to discuss, to negotiate.

Monday, July 30, 2012(1 comments)State Department Says Obama Official Misquoted on Rwanda
Unfortunately, the erroneous suggestion by the British press that the US spokesman Paul Rapp was calling for the specific prosecution of Paul Kagame was immediately picked up by world media and subsequently used by anti-Rwanda hate groups and lobbying organizations calling for the United States to pull back funding.

Thursday, July 19, 2012(1 comments)AFRICOM and MONUSCO Ignore Civilian Atrocities in Walikale: Is Oil the Reason?
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) announced yesterday that it is forced to suspend its medical activities in the Walikale area of The Democratic Republic of Congo despite a malaria outbreak. Radio Okapi reports that Mai Mai militiamen forced hundreds of people to abandon their homes and flee into the bush. MONUSCO and Congo Army are failing to protect civilians.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012(14 comments)United Nations' Leaks Against Rwanda Pollute Press Pool
In recent weeks, Rwanda has suffered the brunt of what can only be called a media feeding frenzy as international news organizations threw a series of "leaks," allegations, speculation, and rumor into the press pool. In what may be the most egregious violation of ethics, the United Nations leaked 47 pages of an addendum to the interim Group of Experts (GoE) report on the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Sunday, June 10, 2012(1 comments)Interviews Discredit "Defectors" Who Say Rwanda Armed Them in DRC
Judging by my mail, the genocide deniers are having their way with Rwanda. Personally, I cannot deny the suffering I have seen on both sides of that arbitrary border in the Virungas. A confidential dossier compiled by a joint verification team casts serious doubt on the HRW report that Rwanda is arming rebel movement in Congo

Sunday, June 3, 2012(1 comments)UN: No Evidence Rwanda Supported M23 Rebels in Congo
The United Nations on Wednesday confirmed 11 Rwandans had been recruited to join army mutineers in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, but said there was no evidence the Rwandan government played any role.

Monday, May 28, 2012(2 comments)Al Jazeera Breaks Through Media Silence with M23 in Congo
Correspondent Nazanine Moshiri of Al Jazeera has just filed this exclusive interview with M23 in eastern Congo. In it, fighters of the faction vow to fight "to the last man" if the Congolese government does not sit down with them and talk. Al Jazeera is the first news organization to go behind the lines and interview M23.

Sunday, May 27, 2012(4 comments)Mountain Gorillas Again Used As Pawns in Western Propaganda War
There is great pressure now from the Congolese government, Rwanda, China and other robber barons of the Congo to quell the M23 rebellion. Suggestions that more gorillas may be killed will certainly galvanize public opinion against the M23. Once again, the gorilla population is being used in what looks like a propaganda war in the British press.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012Film "Arise" Shows Power of Women to Heal the Earth
The women of Arise are called by destiny to protect the earth while at the same time utilizing earth's bounty for the nourishment of life and community. Living on the earth responsibly requires partnership. One must replenish what one uses in a spirit of respect and stewardship. There is no longer room on the planet for narcissistic caretakers whose self-absorption and greed is sucking the life from our planet.

Saturday, January 21, 2012(2 comments)Did Media Collude With Rwanda to Set Up Congo General Laurent Nkunda?
The United Nations High Command on Refugees issued a press release today saying in part that renewed violence variously involving "government troops, FDLR forces, and local defence groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo's volatile eastern region has forced over 100,000 civilians out of their homes since late November." Attacks in Shabunda have displaced some 70,000 people since November.Nkunda can't be blamed for this.

Friday, July 29, 2011Sex for Work in Haiti
Could it be true that transactional sex, kickbacks, and other "favors" are de facto requirements for Haitians applying for work that is funded by USAID?

Saturday, April 23, 2011Violence Erupts in Wake of New Election Shenanigans in Haiti
Haiti's newly elected president, Michel Martelly, has requested that the international community "not recognize the results of the Parliamentary elections" in press release issued late Friday night. Martelly charges that vote tabulations for senators and deputies who were leading in the polls were excluded in favor of candidates representing the ruling party, INITE.

Monday, February 28, 2011Samia Salomon: A Central Pillar of Haiti's Community Journalism Network
Do we need foreign correspondents when there are trained journalists in-country? Who can best tell the story? Who understands Haiti better than a Haitian journalist? Who can tell the story of women in Congo, Iraq, or China and Tibet better than Chouchou Namegabe, Atwar Bahjet, and Tsering Woeser. What does it mean, exactly, to be a feminist journalist in Haiti?

Saturday, February 19, 2011(3 comments)Death in a Bottle for a Handful of Haitian Coins
nternet chatter began in earnest on January 26 when foreign medical interests in Haiti reported sudden onsets of blindness, breathing difficulties, paralysis and death in the remote Haitian village of Fond Baptiste. Men, women, and babies were falling ill with no apparent epidemiologic reason. It was not cholera and it was not polio.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011(1 comments)Haiti: Clean Water Is a Human Right If You Can Find it
OCHA reports that several non-governmental "charity" organizations (NGOs) are about to reduce their activities relating to clean water and sanitation "because of a lack of funding or to focus on longer term strategies." The problem is that, once introduced into an ecosystem, the cholera bacterium will not go away, even if the relief organizations do so.